Bootstrapped evaluation : a mobile application for evaluating the user interface of mobile applications

Details

Supervisors

Vanderdonckt, Jean

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [60] en sciences informatiques

Abstract

Following the advent of desktop and laptop devices, a new type of tool found its way in the hands of a staggeringly high number of people: smartphones. By only being a pocket-reach away, it is not hard to see the appeal that this relatively new type of device poses for the general population. This, aided by constant improvements of network technologies, both in terms of coverage, speed, and reliability, led us to having, as of 2020, over 68% of web traffic being generated by mobile devices alone, and this number is only projected to increase. With about a thousand new applications being pushed on the Apple’s AppStore alone every day and with the average user spending only approximately 50 milliseconds evaluating the potential interest of a new app, the development of appealing, pleasurable user interfaces becomes fundamental to win over the hearts and minds (and downloads) of people, which often value beauty more than utility or quality. Given these premises, it becomes necessary to have a systematic approach to evaluate the fitness of user interfaces, as what cannot be measured can’t be improved either. To keep the measuring process as quick, easy and immediate as possible, a mobile application capable of evaluating graphical user interfaces based off of several aesthetics metrics has been developed, allowing us to give a numeric rating to the beauty of GUIs with nothing more than a screenshot, capability which is particularly useful in case one were to rate user interfaces of mobile applications inaccessible from a web browser. This thesis aims at describing its development process.